Site offers hope to parents whose unborn child has medical problems

Published: 2007-10-17

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (CNS) -- When she was pregnant, doctors told Monica Rafie and her husband, Darian, that their unborn child "had heart defects that were incompatible with life." The couple relied on their faith and opted to have the child. As an infant, Celine, now 6 years old, required surgeries for her cardiac abnormalities as well as intensive neonatal care. "We wanted to give Celine as much of a chance as we could," said Rafie. The parents remained at little Celine's bedside as the newborn recovered. And, their extended family provided support while they remained at the hospital. Rafie, a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Lombard, realized later that the love and compassion of her family gave her and her husband the strength necessary to continue to brave the ordeal. So she launched a Web site in 2002 -- www.benotafraid.net -- to show parents the same kindness during traumatic times in their own lives. The site, which she operates from her home, "offers hope from a Catholic perspective," Rafie told the Catholic Explorer, newspaper of the Joliet Diocese.

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